About

“Jane of all trades” is most likely the phrase to describe artist and creator Laura Lee Imhoff. Although, master of none certainly wouldn’t be something that follows it up. While Imhoff is known for her musical talent as a singer/songwriter, she has always been a visual artist at heart. Upon graduating from The School of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston with a focus in traditional stained glass methods, Imhoff moved to Austin in 2008 to pursue her music career.

In more recent years, Ms. Laura Lee has found herself being drawn back to her roots as a visual artist, but not in the traditional sense. With a world that has gone high tech, she has found a niche in the resurgence of old time crafts: hand embroidery, the creation of canned goods, and giving new life to tired furniture.

About the blog

Imhoff’s blog, made by laura lee, launched in 2013 as a way to share her creative process, completed projects, and even artistic dry spells with friends and family, near and far. With its casual writing style and incorporation of personal content, made by laura lee is upbeat, simple yet relatable, and subtly inspirational. There is a wide range of subject matter and entries, much like Laura Lee’s expansive skillset, from canning to recipes, to music and community, and to her most beloved embroidery and refinishing furniture.

About the business

Like many artists, there is a strong desire to make a living from their work. Laura Lee began canning and hand embroidery as a hobby and creative outlet. After some time, this hobby slowly turned her apartment into a craft version of “Hoarders” or “Martha Stewart” gone wrong. Over the last year, Imhoff has begun casually selling her handmade wares and seeing a great demand for locally made goods. As 2016 rang in, Imhoff has taken on a studio space for her expanding side project of refinishing furniture. With the overwhelming support from the community, Imhoff is now in the beginning phases of turning the concept of made by laura lee into a business.

In the research and planning phase, Imhoff is making big steps to pursue her dream of being a self-employed artist and entrepreneur: converted her humble blog into a website (madebylauralee.com), has with a graphic designer to create a cohesive brand, starting her business plan, and taking care of the more mundane paperwork as well (LLC, anyone?) all while still actively creating and working her day job.